Human Resources News

This email is going to Chancellors, Provosts, CBOs, SSAOs, SDOs, SSEOs, CHROs, CIOs, Compliance Officers, Shared Governance Groups, and Designated Institutional Policy Contacts. Please distribute to others as needed.

November Policy
Distribution Reminder,
November Policy Action Summary, and Effective Dates Reminder

As a reminder, the November 2022 institution policy distribution includes for comment four (4) revised policies.

Four (4) revised policies: 

·         SYS 346, Patents and Inventions

·         SYS 521, Authority to Sign Procurement Contracts in the UW System

·         SYS 523, Emergency Procurements

·         SYS 540, Non-Competitive Procurement Contracts

Additionally, one (1) revised policy and one (1) rescinded policy from the October 2022 distribution are still available for comment.

One (1) revised policy:

·         SYS 155, Instructor Educational Development in the UW System

One (1) rescinded policy:

·         SYS 156, Guidelines for Faculty Retraining, Renewal, and Development

Click on the links above to view the drafts and ensure that your feedback is captured for review during the post-comment period. Comments can include attachments, including word documents and PDFs.

Please submit your feedback by:

·         Friday, December 9, 2022 for SYS 521, SYS 523, and SYS 540

·         Tuesday, December 20, 2022 for SYS 155 and SYS 156

·         Tuesday, January 17, 2023 for SYS 346

Please find summaries of the policies and procedure below. 

DRAFT REVISED POLICY

SYS 155, Instructional Educational Development in the UW System

·         The current version of SYS 155, Faculty Development and Renewal – The 1970’s and Beyond, is a “white paper” which guides future actions. The assumptions and guidance in this white paper are outdated and not in a policy format; there is no current policy which guides the education development of instructional staff at UW System institutions. With the establishment of a systemwide office to support and guide professional development, as well as centers for faculty development at individual campuses, the work that is integrated into both system and campus infrastructures is not guided by policy. Institutional accreditation also requires that faculty development exists.

·         Under these revisions, this policy is retitled as SYS 155, Instructor Educational Development in the UW System and re-formatted to align with the current UW System Administrative Policies template. These revisions included.

·         Revising terminology to acknowledge the broadening of the term “faculty” and “educational development” by both academic research and professional organizations.

·         Articulating signature programs at UW System.

·         Defining the roles of UW System Administration (UWSA) and universities for this work, including, but not limited to, the centers for teaching and learning.

·         Articulating the value and benefits of educational development for the UW System, universities, and instructors.

·         Articulating several accreditation standards and expectations related to educational development.

DRAFT RESCINDED POLICY

SYS 156, Guidelines for Faculty Retraining, Renewal, and Development

·         This policy outlines the guidelines for institutional development and implementation of a comprehensive program of faculty retraining, renewal, and development as called for under SYS 155, Faculty Development and Renewal – The 1970’s and Beyond. The purpose of this program is to increase the flexible and effective use of existing faculty personnel in the UW System.

·         Proposed revisions to SYS 155, retitled as “Instructor Educational Development” in the UW System, incorporate the key concepts for faculty retraining, renewal, and development currently described in SYS 156. Therefore, a separate policy is no longer required and SYS 156 is proposed for rescission upon the approval of the revised SYS 155.

DRAFT REVISED POLICY

SYS 346, Patents and Inventions

This policy establishes the applicable UW System policies with respect to inventions and outline the responsibilities, privileges, and options of faculty, staff, and students when they have made an invention. Revisions to the policy include:

·         In Section 2, updated the responsible UW System Officer to the Vice President for Finance and Administration to reflect the recent reorganization of the UW System Administration.

·         In Section 5, updated the definition of invention to ensure it is comprehensive.

·         In subsection 6.A, added examples of inventions and updated language related to documentation.

·         In subsection 6.A, identified provisions that must be included in employee agreements related to their sponsored research projects.

·         In subsection 6.A, added references to sample agreements that may be used.

·         In subsection 6.A and 6.B, added new and revised existing language to ensure consistency with the Bayh Dole Act.

·         In subsection 6.B.III, added language related to special consideration for disposition of rights to unencumbered inventions which are embodied in tangible form.

·         In Section 7, added links to sample intellectual property agreement forms.

DRAFT REVISED POLICIES

SYS 500 Series Package

These policies are proposed for revision in response to amendments made to Regent Policy Document 13-1, General Contract Approval, Signature Authority, and Reporting, approved by Resolution 11895 on June 10, 2022. For details on the specific revisions proposed in each policy, see below:

SYS 521, Authority to Sign Procurement Contracts in the UW System

·         Throughout the policy, updated the citation formatting to the Wisconsin Statutes to align with other SYS policies.

·         In Section 4.A, removed language regarding Wisconsin’s Department of Administration delegating contract signature authority to sign contracts, and simplified language regarding Director of Procurement titles.

·         In Section 5, removed “Procurement” from the term Contract Signature Authority.

·         In the first paragraph of Section 6, clarified that procurement contracts must follow an authorized process, replaced “purchasing agent” with contracting personnel, and replaced language regarding the state procurement delegation policy and the delegation of authority agreement with a reference to RPD 13-1, General Contract Approval, Signature Authority, and Reporting.

·         In the third paragraph of Section 6, clarified that contracts must be signed by formally delegated university contracting personnel, and added the President as an individual who can delegate procurement contract signature authority. Also added that delegated personnel must confer with Purchasing personnel when determining the appropriate procurement authority, removed language that designated that this authority would be the state of Wisconsin or Board of Regents, and clarified that Purchasing must conduct the appropriate procurement process. In the last sentence, replaced the term “officer” with personnel.

·         Removed the fourth paragraph of Section 6 regarding University Contracting Officers not having the authority to sign state of Wisconsin procurement contract documents.

·         In the last paragraph of Section 6, removed the words “to monitor” to simplify language.

SYS 523, Emergency Procurements

·         In the last paragraph of Section 6, changed language from "must" to may, and removed the sentence dictating that contracts over $1 million require the Board of Regents approval.

SYS 540, Non-Competitive Procurement Contracts

·         In Section 1, added language to correct fragment sentence.

·         In Section 5, removed reference to Cost and Price Analysis Guidance.

·         In the fourth paragraph of Section 6, removed the words “and signed.”

·         In the fifth paragraph of Section 6, added the institution’s Purchasing Director to those able to approve contracts valued at $150,000-$499,999 and recognized that some institutions utilize the title Vice President instead of Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration. Also removed the language regarding the institution’s Purchasing Director being able to sign these contracts.

·         In the sixth paragraph of Section 6, added the institution’s Purchasing Director to those able to approve contracts valued over $500,000, recognized that some institutions utilize the title Vice President instead of Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, and clarified that these contracts may be (but are no longer required to be) reviewed by legal.

·         In the seventh paragraph of Section 6, clarified that contracts over $1,000,000 with private, profit-making organizations must be approved by the institution’s Purchasing Director and the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration. Removed the UW System Office of Procurement from the list of those who must approve and clarified that the campus legal offices at UW-Madison or UW-Milwaukee can review (in addition to the UW System Office of General Counsel). Clarified that RPD 13-1 and RPD 25-4 will define if the contract requires Board of Regents approval (instead of always requiring this approval.

·         In Section 7, added RPD 25-4, Strategic Planning and Large or High-Risk Projects to the list of related documents.

November Policy Action Summary

Please find attached the November Policy Action Summary. It details policy work completed between November 2, 2022 and December 1, 2022. This includes two (2) rescinded Regent Policy Documents, three (3) revised Regent Policy Documents, one (1) new UW System Administrative (SYS) Policy, forty-five (45) revised SYS Policies and Procedures, and one (1) new SYS Procedure.

Rescinded Regent Policy Documents

·         RPD 6-3, Delegation of Authority to President for Personnel Actions

·         RPD 6-6, Delegation to System President

Revised Regent Policy Documents

·         RPD 20-21, University Personnel Systems

·         RPD 20-27, Selection Process for System President, Chancellors, Vice Chancellors and UW System Leadership Positions

·         RPD 20-28, Executive Salary Structure

New Policy

·         SYS 1038, Information Security: Network Protection

Revised Policies and Procedures

·         SYS 165, The Academic Calendar

·         SYS 334, Accountability for Capital Equipment

·         SYS 825, Special Course Fees

·         Vice President for Finance and Administration Technical Amendment package

New Procedure

·         SYS 1038.A, Information Security: Network Protection Standard

Effective Date Reminder

The revisions to SYS 240, Relocation (Household Moves) and Temporary or Indefinite Work Assignments, which were approved on September 20, 2022, will become effective on January 1, 2023. The newly approved version of the policy can be viewed at SYS 240 Approved and Effective January 1, 2023. 

Please direct any questions to Michael Kent at mkent@uwsa.edu or Elizabeth Dressel at edressel@uwsa.edu.

SYS 1036, Information Security: Endpoint Protection and SYS 1036.A, Information Security: Endpoint Protection Standard, which were approved on February 17, 2022, will become effective on February 17, 2023.

Please direct any questions to informationsecurity@uwsa.edu.